Fix: D3D Device Lost – Unreal Engine is exiting due to D3D Device Lost

January 10, 2022

Did you receive the error message ‘Unreal Engine is exiting due to D3D device being lost’? It’s extremely frustrating isn’t it? You’re playing your favorite game on Steam and suddenly your game crashes and you’re faced with this error. The good news is that this can be fixed very easily, and I’m going to show you exactly how to do it.

Fix D3D Device Lost Title

In this guide, I’ll help you understand what this error message means, the different reasons why this error occurs, and I’ll also give you a couple of quick and easy solutions you can apply to resolve it.

What Is D3D Device Lost Error?

Although most Steam users would have received the error ‘D3D Device Lost’, many do not know what it means and why they’re getting this error. Before showing you how to fix it, I will give you a brief idea about what it is all about.

Fix D3D Device Lost Example

D3D is short for Direct 3D, and it is a graphics application programming interface related to your graphics adapter and its driver. When there is an error with the D3D Device, it means that there is an issue with your graphics driver and how it is interacting with the Unreal Engine. Since Unreal Engine is a crucial game engine used by a lot of Steam games, this can cause the game to shut down.

Let us now look at the reasons why your D3D Device can malfunction.

Why Do I Get The “D3D Device Lost” Error?

After a bit of research, I was able to find some of the most common reasons why Steam users are getting the ‘Unreal Engine is exiting due to D3D device being lost’ error. Here they are.

Error

1. Outdated Graphic Drivers – Most Common Reason For ‘D3D Device Being Lost’ Error

If you’ve not updated your Graphic drivers in a while, it can cause issues with Unreal Engine, thus leading to the D3D device malfunctioning. Always ensure that your graphic drivers are up-to-date from your manufacturer’s website.

2. Overclocking

Overclocking can allow your computer to give a boost to the GPU, but it has been known to cause problems or conflicts with resource-intensive applications. Disabling overclocking may fix the issue.

3. Multiple Graphic Cards

Most gaming computers today have a dedicated GPU as well as an integrated GPU. The dedicated GPU is often used to run games that require a lot of processing power, but the other GPU could interfere with this and cause issues with the Unreal Engine.

4. Antivirus Software – Another Reason For ‘D3D Device Being Lost’ Error

Many antivirus softwares block Unreal Engine by flagging it as a false positive. You can disable your antivirus temporarily while you’re gaming, or whitelist the specific game on your antivirus software to fix the issue.

5. NVIDIA GeForce Settings

Certain NVIDIA Settings can cause D3D Device to crash and give you an error message. Tweaking these settings can sometimes resolve the issue.

How To Fix “D3D Device Lost” Error?

Here are the different methods you can use to fix the “D3D Device Lost” error on your PC.

1. Update Your Graphic Drivers – Important Fix For “D3D Device Lost” Error

Updating Graphic Drivers to the newest version can often solve many issues that pop-up while gaming. Here’s how you can do it for NVIDIA.

Step 1: Open the GeForce Experience application. If you don’t have it, you can download it from here – https://www.nvidia.com/en-in/geforce/geforce-experience/. It’s an amazing app to optimize your games and keep your drivers up-to-date.

GeForce Experience

Step 2: Click on ‘Check for updates’. GeForce Experience will automatically check with the NVIDIA website to see if there are any possible driver updates available for your device. It will then be displayed on the screen.

Check for updates

Step 3: Click on the green ‘Download’ button. The update will be downloaded and installed within a few minutes.

Download

You can now restart your game and see if the error is fixed.

2. Use Dedicated Graphics Card

When you have multiple graphic cards for your device, it can interfere sometimes with how certain programs work. Set your dedicated Graphics card as the default to fix this issue.

Step 1: Go to the search option on your Taskbar and type in ‘NVIDIA Control Panel’. Click on the app.

NVIDIA Control Panel

Step 2: Click on the tab that says ‘Global Settings’. Under ‘Preferred graphics processor’, click on the drop-down menu that is set to ‘Auto-select’ by default.

Auto Select

Step 3: Select ‘High-performance NVIDIA processor’. This is the dedicated graphics card for your device.

High performance nvidia

Step 4: Finally, click on ‘Apply’ to save the settings.

Apply - Fix D3D Device Lost Title

You have now successfully set your dedicated graphic card as the default. This should have resolved the ‘D3D Device Lost’ Error.

3. Disable the NVIDIA GeForce Experience Battery Boost Option

Battery Boost is a feature in GeForce Experience that dynamically adjusts the GPU performance while you’re gaming. However, this can sometimes cause crashes with Unreal Engine. Try disabling it to see if it resolves the error.

Step 1: Run the NVIDIA GeForce Experience application.

Step 2: Go to Settings. It will be the cog-wheel icon on the top-right corner.

Step 3: Tap on the tab called ‘Games’ and select Battery Boost. Turn it off.

Step 4: Restart your game.

4. Turn Off Your Antivirus Software

Antivirus

Some Antivirus programs will automatically block Unreal Engine from running due to a false positive. Temporarily disable your antivirus by going to your antivirus settings, and restart your game. If you notice that the “D3D Device Lost” error no longer appears, you will have to whitelist the game within the Antivirus program to prevent the error in the future.

You can go ahead and turn on your antivirus once the game has been whitelisted.

Conclusion

I have discussed some of the most common methods that can resolve the ‘D3D Device Lost’ error on Steam. If a single method does not resolve the issue, make sure that you try all the solutions from this guide. I’m sure one of them will get your games back up and running.

Another option is to directly get in touch with Steam Support. They’ll be able to check if it’s an issue from their end, or if any suitable patches are available for you to download to fix this issue. If you need more guidance, let us know in the comments below and we’ll help you out.

Don’t forget to check out our website for more guides and helpful tips!


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